Tulsa Building Coming Down Next To I-44

By Craig Day, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- Work is well underway on $360 million worth of improvements along I-44 in Tulsa.

A demolition crew is making major progress as it tears down a 7-story building at I-44 and Lewis. The structure's demolition is part of the project to widen I-44 from Riverside Drive to Yale Avenue.

4/12/2010 Related story: Crews Begin Demolition Of 7-Story Building Next To I-44 In Tulsa

For ODOT, seeing projects take shape can be exciting, but tearing things down, that's just cool… so cool that Jimmy Johnston and his son Jordan couldn't resist stopping to watch.

"I wanted to see a couple of good hits," said Jimmy Johnston, who is a Tulsa resident.

"Never seen a wrecking ball, never seen what it does. So we had to stop, had to look at it," said Jordan Johnston, who is a Tulsa resident.

The 7-story building is coming down for an Interstate-44 widening project.

"You don't see a lot of wrecking ball demolition," said Matt Casillas, ODOT Project Manager.

Crews are using a wrecking ball, instead of explosives, because of the site's proximity to roads and neighborhoods.

"So many times anymore, they just implode them," said Jimmy Johnston.

"We don't want to cause any damage to vehicles or any hazard to anybody," said Casillas.

Demolition of all the concrete and steel is drawing a lot of onlookers. Besides just being fun to watch, the demolition project is a milestone for ODOT.

"This 7-story building is the tallest structure to be taken down in this corridor and it's also the last structure to come down," said Casillas.

Altogether, 320 parcels have been cleared to make way for the widening project, but certainly nothing like this.

With their pictures taken and their curiosity satisfied, Jimmy and Jordan are leaving things to the experts. It's a job that will only take another day or two.

Once the building is down, it will take a couple of weeks to remove all of the rubble. About eight trucks an hour, hundreds of them altogether, will haul off the debris.

ODOT plans to wrap up the project in early 2013.